I Loved Her First
by Lune-Solei
Summary: I thought I’d find you up here.' 'I let her go.' 'You did what was best.' 'I know,' he murmurs. 'I let her go.' Futurefic. UxY. Fluff.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Code Lyoko or "I Loved Her First." The show belongs to the lovely people at Ante Films and the song belongs to Heartland. I only borrowed them for a time.

**Rating:** G

**Pairing:** UxY GASP! Canon!, OCxOC

**Warnings:** None… a little angst-y maybe? Oh, and it's set in the future.

**Author's Note:** "Schuyler" is pronounced "Skyler" for all of you who can't pronounce Dutch. Oh, and "Jolie" means "pretty" in French, you know like tres jolie. Other than that…uh…this took about an hour to write and I'm actually quite proud of it. I was also told that people missed my canon writing, so…I bit the bullet and here's one piece. So be nice with the reviews and enjoy?

**Dedication:** To Ems, cause she's bummed out today and I promised her a bday fic. So what if it's nearly a month late?

--

_Look at the two of you dancing that way  
Lost in the moment and each others face  
So much in love your alone in this place  
Like there's nobody else in the world  
I was enough for her not long ago  
I was her number one  
She told me so_

He stands there, sipping the drink that had been thrust into his hand absently, not really noticing what it tasted like. It was a wonderful evening, a summer wind providing the outdoor air conditioning they desired while the sinking sun added the perfect backdrop to the laughing, dancing couples, and yet he can't help but feel melancholy, the faint tinge of sadness clinging to him despite his efforts to shake it off. He sighs; setting the drink down, he's half-sure it's empty now, on the tray of a passing waiter, making his way across the lawn and to the large stone staircase.

Leaning against the railing he looks out across the garden and sees them dancing, near the center of the crowd, smiling and lost in their own world, as if confined to a bubble. Her dark hair is swept up into some kind of style that he'll never remember the name of, gems glittering in the ebony strands and her eyes shine as he spins her out then brings her back to him tightly.

"I thought I'd find you up here."

"I let her go."

"You did what was best."

"I know," he murmurs. "I let her go."

_And she still means the world to me  
Just so you know  
So be careful when you hold my girl  
Time changes everything  
Life must go on_

Light eyes and blonde-brown hair. She had always told him that was her dream guy and he had been foolish enough to think she would change her mind; that he himself would be good enough for her, would be all she would need. He had been wrong but he accepted that, in time, because really, there was nothing else he could do.

"She'll always love you."

A promise and he knew it was true just as he knew it was true that he would always love her. Life goes on, time moves on, changes things, but not this. This would remain forever, just like the stars at night and the constant rush of the ocean waves that roared dully, just behind the tinkle of the fountains in the garden.

"I'll always love her."

"She knows. And he knows too. He'll take good care of her, just as you did."

"I know."

_But I loved her first and I held her first  
And a place in my heart will always be hers  
From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
And I prayed that she'd find you someday  
But it's still hard to give her away  
I loved her first_

"He makes her happy."

"I know," he sighs.

He tears his eyes away from the dancing couple, turning to look at the woman next to him, the one who's stood by his side since they were barely teenagers, and she offers him a smile, trying to comfort him the best way she knew how too. Her black hair is pinned back, away from her face, and her eyes shine happily, if tiredly, and he manages to return the smile.

"Will you miss her Yumi?"

She looks shocked at first, and then nods, letting her eyes return to the couple. "Yes, I will. But that's okay because she's happy and I knew that this day would come." She sends him a smug look. "_I_ prepared for it."

"I thought I had too," he murmurs quietly. "I hoped and prayed that she would find someone to make her happy, to care for her, to love her just as much as I love you. I just never expected the pain that comes along with it, of letting her go finally, after all these years, all those memories…"

Yumi laughs quietly, resting her head on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around her waist in response, automatic through years of practice. She reaches up, patting his hand lightly as it rests on the marble balustrade, wedding band gleaming in the lights that have suddenly been lit around the premises, keeping the night darkness away from the party.

_How could that beautiful woman with you  
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew  
The one that I read all those fairy tales to  
And tucked into bed all those nights  
And I knew the first time I saw you with her  
It was only a matter of time_

"Mom! Dad! What are you two doing up here?" A frown appears between her two eyebrows, something she inherited from her father, or copied from years of watching. "Aren't you enjoying the reception?"

"Of course we are Jolie," she says, stepping away from him to embrace their daughter. Her arms wrap around her and she smiles widely. "You are so beautiful," she murmurs tightly.

"Dad?" Jolie asks, tilting her head to the side. "Are you alright?"

"I'm great Sweetie," he replies, going over to press a kiss to her forehead and tuck a strand of dark hair behind an ear. She smiles widely, brown eyes glittering from the light and he can't help but shake his head at her.

"What?"

"Nothing Sweetie, I'm just thinking about you when you were little."

He can picture it perfectly, the lazy summer days when he would go on vacation, just to spend time with the family, turned off the cell phone, the beeper, and wouldn't check his emails for a week or two. She and her sister would spend all day in the pool, laughing and splashing, the sunlight bringing out the freckles she was so proud of as a child.

Then at night, after her mother had bundled her up and made her change into pajamas after a bath, she would pester him into coming into her room to read her a fairytale, Cinderella was always her favorite, and she would lay in bed, fighting off the tiredness and laughing quietly while the baby slept in the room next door and her sister lay cuddled into his arms. It was always interesting flipping through a book with a toddler in his arms, usually asleep by the second page.

"Dad!" she exclaims now, glaring at him. "_No_ embarrassing stories about my childhood. Not at my wedding, do you understand?" she demands as her new husband finds them finally, catching the end of the conversation and laughing quietly as he wraps his arms around her.

"I find the stories about your childhood hilarious though, Jol," he teases.

She spins in his arms, eyeing him sharply as mother-and-father eye each other, knowing her moods, her temper, better than anyone else. "That's precisely why they are _not_ to be told."

_But I loved her first and I held her first  
And a place in my heart will always be hers  
From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
And I prayed that she'd find you someday  
But its still hard to give her away  
I loved her first_

He's smart, he backs down easily. "Time for a group picture, my parents are already waiting near the fountain with your sister, I think your brother's flagging down the photographer."

"Alright," she sighs. She turns to her parents, smiling at them hopefully, knowing how much her mother hates her picture being taken. "Come on you two, enough hiding, you have to mingle. And smile. This is a good day, a happy day." Her eyes turn to her father and her smile is addicting. "Please Daddy, be happy? For me?"

"I am happy," he promises.

Eight hours of labor and the threat of an emergency C-section but she had been born healthy and beautiful. Seven pounds exactly and twenty-one inches long. He can still remember, despite the years that have passed, twenty-six though she would deny it if asked. He had been worried over her, scared, waited until that first cry filled the room, only then was he able to breathe out a sigh of relief. Only then had he been able to pay attention to what the doctor was saying, was able to take the scissors and cut the cord and watch as she was bundled up and cleaned.

She had been a serious baby, thoughtful and clever, preferring to fiddle with things, to try and figure out how they worked. She hadn't been into playing, more into destroying. Not like her sister, Aimee, who smiled early on at two-and-a-half months, or her brother, Chase, who grinned at three months. No, she waited half a year before letting them see, smiling one day while he was holding her, showing her the glass ornament on the Christmas tree they had bought in honor of her first Christmas. They were lucky enough to catch it on film.

"I love you Dad."

"I love you too Jolie, and I am happy. Don't worry."

"But I do."

He shakes his head, following them down the stairs and through the party-goers to the center of the garden where the bronze fountain spurts water in a dizzying array of rainbow droplets from the mouths of mermaids and fish. He is happy, is proud, to see all the hard work they had done in order to ensure she had a happy childhood finally pay off, to see her smiling and happy. Even if it is in the arms of another man.

_From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
Someday you might know what I'm going through  
When a miracle smiles up at you  
I loved her first_

"Alright everyone, smile!" the photographer calls once they've arranged themselves somewhat presentably. He snaps the pictures, five in total, just in case, and then allows them to leave.

He's heading back to the veranda, back to watching, when he feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to look at the young man standing before him. Blonde-brown hair is disheveled from many fingers running through it numerous times, green eyes happy, nervous.

"Ulrich…I just…I'll take care of her."

"I know." He smiles then, resting his own hand on the boy's shoulder. "I loved her first, from the moment I saw her I knew I would love her the rest of my life. I hope that you get to experience that some day Kyle. Because then you'll know that it doesn't matter who loves her first, it just doesn't work that way. Take care of her."

"I will."

Yumi approaches when Kyle is stolen away by Jolie, smiling and wrapping her arms around her husband from behind, resting her head on his shoulder. "You did what was best."

"I know."

"You let her go."

"Yeah."

She sighs, patting his shoulder and he turns, smiling at her. "Now, was that so hard?"

"No. She's happy and he'll take care of her."

"Precisely. Now, just think, we get to go through this again next year when Aimee marries Schuyler in the spring."

He laughs quietly, pulling her close. "I still can't believe she's marrying _Odd's_ kid," he grumbles.

"It is funny, isn't it?" She sighs as he gazes at their daughter once more. "You love her."

"Yeah. I loved her first, but it doesn't matter."

"You're going to do this to me again next year, aren't you?"

He grins then, ruffling her hair just like he used to do when they were younger. "Probably." She only groans in response, shaking her head.


End file.
